Tag: U.S. House

House approves $1.3 trillion spending package for 2021

The Hill logoThe House on Friday approved a $1.3 trillion package of spending bills for the 2021 fiscal year.

The package, passed in a largely party-line 217-197 vote, included the spending bills for defense; labor, health and human services, and education; commerce, justice and science; energy and water; financial services and general government; and transportation and housing and urban development.

The House has now approved all but two spending bills, though the remaining bills are not expected to receive floor consideration. Continue reading.

Misuse of taxpayer funds leads Ethics Committee to reprimand and fine Rep. Schweikert

Arizona Republican designated others to sign off on official disbursements

The House Ethics Committee ordered Thursday that Rep. David Schweikert be fined $50,000 and reprimanded on the House floor for violating federal law and House rules by allowing his office to misuse taxpayer money, skirting Federal Election Commission reporting requirements, using campaign money for personal use and pressuring his staff to engage in campaign work.

The Ethics Committee plans to bring a privileged resolution to reprimand the Arizona Republican for a full House vote. Schweikert must repay the Treasury by Oct. 30.

The Arizona Republican’s Members’ Representational Allowance was misused for non-official purposes from January 2011 to November 2017, the Ethics Committee found. The report comes after the panel received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative entity in the House that found there was a “substantial reason” to believe Schweikert violated federal and House rules. Continue reading.

House votes to end military ban on transgender troops

Amendment would block use of funds to implement policy that would bar transgender people from joining military and keep some who are already serving from staying in

The House adopted by voice vote an amendment to the fiscal 2021 Defense appropriations bill Thursday that would effectively bring an end to the Trump administration’s severe restrictions on transgender people serving openly in the U.S. military.

The amendment was tucked into a massive en bloc package of amendments that were attached to the six-bill spending package that includes defense funding.

Introduced by California Democrat Jackie Speier, chairwoman of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, the amendment would block the use of funds to implement policy issued in April 2019 that would bar transgender people from joining the military and even keep some transgender people who are already serving from staying in. Continue reading.

Rep. Jim Jordan yells and throws a hearing into chaos over his ‘fringe conspiracy theories’

AlterNet logoRep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) threw the entire House Judiciary Committee’s hearing with four of the top big tech CEOs into a three-ring circus on Wednesday when Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) opened her five-minute allotment of questioning by appearing to suggest he is a conspiracy theorist.

“I’d like to direct your attention to anti-trust law rather than fringe conspiracy theories,” Congresswoman Scanlon declared.

Congressman Jordan, both maskless and jacketless, broke House decorum by interrupting his colleague, and by shouting: “Mr. Chairman, we have the email – there is no fringe conspiracy –” Continue reading.

Five takeaways as panel grills tech CEOs

The Hill logoThe long anticipated confrontation between the chief executives of America’s largest tech firms and Congress produced several memorable moments Wednesday and gave important insight into the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust’s investigation into competition in digital marketplaces.

The hearing — featuring Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Sundar Pichai teleconferencing in — went more than five hours, with each lawmaker on the panel getting three rounds of questioning. 

Here are the five biggest takeaways from Wednesday’s hearing. Continue reading.

House passes bill to repeal Trump’s travel ban

The measure, mainly seen as a statement against the president’s immigration policies, is not expected to be taken up in the Senate

The House passed a measure Wednesday that would repeal the Trump administration’s ban restricting travel from targeted nations and prohibit future presidents from implementing bans based on race or religion.

The measure passed 233-183, mainly along party lines. The legislation would lift restrictions President Donald Trump has put on numerous countries over the years, including travel limits initially placed on a group of predominantly Muslim nations.

The measure also would expand the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination based on religion. The bill is not expected to advance in the Republican-led Senate, however. Continue reading.

House votes to remove Confederate statues from Capitol

The Hill logoThe House voted Wednesday to approve legislation to remove statues in the Capitol of people who served the Confederacy or otherwise worked to defend slavery, a moment sparked by the demonstrations for racial justice across the country.

The legislation was approved in a 305-113 vote. All of the “no” votes came from GOP lawmakers, while 72 Republicans voted to remove the statues.

“Just imagine what it feels like as an African American to know that my ancestors built the Capitol, but yet there are monuments to the very people that enslaved my ancestors,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the leader of the Congressional Black Caucus, said ahead of the vote. Continue reading.

Yoho apologizes after confrontation with Ocasio-Cortez

The Hill logoRep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) apologized to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on the House floor on Wednesday morning following a heated confrontation on issues of crime and policing on the Capitol steps Monday. 

The Florida Republican apologized for his tone during the encounter with the firebrand first-term progressive, in which a reporter with The Hill overheard him call her “disgusting” and “out of your freaking mind” for her suggestion that poverty and unemployment are leading to an increase in crime in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic. As he was walking away, he also referred to her with a crude, sexist slur.

Yoho denied directing the use of profanity at his colleague. Continue reading.

Rep. Phillips Successfully Adds Eight Amendments to Improve the 2021 Defense Bill

Phillips secures amendments to modernize national security, support military families, bolster crisis preparedness, stabilize international relationships

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-03) joined a bipartisan majority in the House that voted to pass theFY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the 60th consecutive year. The defense bill responds to the global COVID-19 crisis by creating a Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, takes steps to build a more inclusive and diverse military, gives our servicemembers a 3% pay raise, explores the national security implications of climate change, and improves oversight and transparency.

“Representation begins with listening, but it also requires action. I’m pleased to see so many amendments that will improve the lives and security of Minnesotans, and all Americans, are on their way to becoming law,” said Phillips.“Against the backdrop of a global health crisis, and as our country grapples with our history of systemic racism, Congress put our shared national security over partisan politics to fulfill our constitutional obligation to ‘provide for the common defense.’ This is the type of patriotism and collaboration Americans expect from their elected leaders.” Continue reading “Rep. Phillips Successfully Adds Eight Amendments to Improve the 2021 Defense Bill”